The Alpha Deck
by TrebledWriter
Summary: Morrible uses a different approach to smoke out the Witch of the West.


**This is a long oneshot I worked on furiously all weekend. I hope you all enjoy.**

 **Warning: Blood, torture, and general fishiness.**

* * *

"Her sister."

"What's that? What did she say?"

Glinda wasn't sure why she was talking. She wasn't even aware of the words on her tongue. It was the heartbreak and the betrayal she was feeling that was fueling her.

"Use her sister. Spread a rumor and make her think her sister's in trouble. She'll fly to her side and you'll have her." Glinda said, staring blankly out the window in the throne room. "Excuse me Your Ozness, I have a small headache." The blonde left the room swiftly, disappearing to her chambers.

"That's a good idea." The Wizard grinned. "But how?"

Morrible shook her head. "A rumor won't work, Miss Elphaba is far too smart for that."

"Then what? What about a change in the weather?" The Wizard suggested.

"That won't work either."

The Wizard turned away.

"Perhaps," Morrible's blood red lips curled into a wicked smirk, "something a little more...certain."

The large woman swept over to her large crystal ball in the center of the room. She whispered into it, causing it to swirl and morph into an image. The picture showed the young Governor of Munchkinland as she wandered the vacant halls. Morrible watched for a moment before she smiled.

"Perfect."

* * *

Nessarose Thropp was weak.

She'd always known it. She just hated to admit it. But now, she was weak in more ways than one.

It used to be she just couldn't do almost anything for herself.

Presently, her weakness expanded out to her inability to do good. To _be_ good. To anyone.

She knew that Elphaba wasn't coming back for her. But that didn't prevent fleeting thoughts and hopes that the green girl might return and take her away from the cursed house she had come to know as a place of torture.

 _Creeeeeaaaaaakkkkkk_

Nessa whirled around, the squeaking of a loose floorboard catching her attention.

"Who's there?" She called, grabbing the thing closest to her – a candelabra- and raising it up defensively. "I'm warning you, I'm the Governor of Munchkinland. Show yourself!" She demanded.

"Oh you know me dearie." A familiar voice floated down the corridor. "I must say you look well. Walking suits you."

The young governor froze. That voice…could it be?

"Madame Morrible?" She asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

"Hello again Miss Nessarose. It seems you've finally shaken the tragic part of beautifully tragic." Morrible said in a sticky sweet tone, rounding the corner.

"What do you want?" Nessa demanded, raising her makeshift weapon, but taking a tiny step back.

"Your sister."

"She's not here. She left."

"Oh I'm well aware," Morrible paused, crossing the hall quickly, "That's why I'm here."

"Get out of my house!" Nessa swung the candelabra in her hand at the old woman, who grabbed it and ripped it from her dainty hand.

"No no, that's not how good girls ought to behave." Morrible cooed, as if Nessa was two, not twenty two. "So behave and enjoy your nap. Goodnight dearie."

Before Nessa was able to comprehend what Morrible said, the woman had already chanted a spell, and Nessa blacked out.

* * *

The yellow brick road, despite being as bright as a fresh yellow crayon from a new box, was dark and gloomy to Elphaba as she stared at it emptily.

She couldn't believe that her little sister was actually dead. Nessa was dead. Crushed under the house of that farm girl who had stolen the ruby slippers that had brought both sisters so much pain.

Looking back, Elphaba realized how strange the whole scene had played out to be.

She had watched as the malformed legs, once the shoes were removed, slide under the house with the ankles rolled fully back so the top of her foot was touching her shin. Elphaba knew all that was wrong with her sister's legs, and the ankles being that unnaturally weak definitely wasn't one of them.

Thinking harder, Elphaba realized how strange it was that it seemed only her legs remained, unbroken and preserved from the destruction. They didn't even look liked her sister's at all.

 _Don't be crazy Elphaba. You know she's dead._

Elphaba sighed, realizing the little voice in her head was right. Gathering herself, she flew from the golden pathway back to Kiamo Ko.

It took her little time to reach the castle that served as her hideout. She entered through the window in the tallest tower. Elphaba smoothly dismounted her broom in the center of the room, her boots silent as they hit the tiled floors. She sat down, throwing off her hat and casting aside her broom. Green hands swept through raven hair, dark eyes focusing on the Grimmerie in her lap.

Elphaba looked up when the pages of her book reflected red. A crimson orb of magic floated just inside the window. She pushed the Grimmerie away into her satchel and stood up, facing the ball. It suddenly changed into Morrible, looking as if she was recording herself. The room around her was dark, and Elphaba recognized from the cell bars that she was standing in Southstairs.

"Hello dearie. I figured I'd send you a message." Morrible smiled cruelly. "How are you?"

"I've been better, what do you want?" Elphaba growled.

"Oh, there's someone who wanted to say hi." Morrible smirked. She reached down and grabbed the person by their back collar. "Get up you." She hissed roughly. Elphaba gasped as the recognizable face appeared in the image.

Nessa.

Her pale face was caked with dirt and grime, and she appeared to have not eaten in days. Her nose was bruised and bloody. There was a long, thin gash in her chin.

"Elphaba…" She croaked, her voice terribly hoarse.

"I have your little sister dearie. She's not dead. But she will be. Unless you surrender in the next two hours, I'll be counting, your poor little Nessarose will be executed." Morrible paused, delighted with the fear reflected in both girls' eyes. "And believe me, it will be very, very slow and very, very painful."

Morrible cackled.

"You have two hours dearie."

"Fabala don't it's a-" Nessa started, but then Morrible broke connection. The red magic orb disappeared. Before she cut connection, Elphaba noticed a key detail she almost overlooked. Inscribed in the wall above her sister's messy head was 'αXV.'

Elphaba gasped as she realized: Alpha Fifteen. The Alpha Deck was the lowest floor in Southstairs, where the worst criminals were locked away.

Worse, the Alpha Deck was the only place in all of Oz where torture was legal. Suddenly Elphaba realized where the ugly bruises and marks gracing her sister's face and come from. Morrible had tortured her.

 _This is a new low,_ Elphaba thought, _even for her._

She felt as if her entire world had come together then fell apart.

Nessa was alive.

 _But she won't be for long._

Something inside of Elphaba snapped.

A rush of adrenaline flooded her system and she felt something she had never felt before.

Something wicked.

* * *

"Fabala don't it's a trap!" Nessa cried hopelessly. But her sister was already gone.

Morrible slowly turned towards her, glaring.

"You weren't supposed to say anything."

"But I did." Nessa spat back.

A clock tick passed, before she felt a stinging sensation in her cheek, and she realized Morrible had slapped her.

"Now listen here Missy, you're my advantage. You're only purpose to me is that your sister is going to be vulnerable once you die."

"She's coming to save me." Nessa was more trying to convince herself then Morrible. She had always been awful to her sister, why would she save her from certain death?

Morrible cackled. "Ah Miss Nessarose, your naivety is thoroughly entertaining. You think your sister is going to give up on all the Animals in Oz, give up everything she's worked so hard to build, just so one measly sister can go?"

Nessa was silent for a moment. As much as she didn't want to believe it, she knew Morrible was probably right.

"Well if you're so confident in that? Why don't you just kill me now?"

"I'm biding my time." Morrible made for the cell door.

"You're scared." Nessa whispered.

"What. Was. That?" The old woman slowly turned around.

"You're scared." She said, gathering her courage back. "You know that if you murder me right here, right now, Elphaba will destroy you. She always was more powerful. You're scared to kill me."

If Morrible was ever scary, it paled in comparison to the picture of terror in front of Nessa at that very moment. From one of the large folds of her dress, she pulled a whip.

"I am certainly not scared. And when I'm done with you, you're going to _wish,_ " Morrible punctuated the word with a whip crack off to her right, "you were dead."

The first whip crack that connected to something echoed through the Alpha Deck, as did Nessa's pained howl as the whip snapped on her back.

"You. Are. Worthless." Morrible hissed, each word gaining another lashing. "Weak."

It went on like this for a while: Morrible verbally berating Nessa, who tried but failed to keep a poker face during every lash and whip to her back.

Morrible finally finished her punishment. "If I were you, I'd keep that mouth shut dearie, because next time...I will kill you." The old woman cackled before leaving the cell and slamming the door behind her. Nessa kept a face of defiance until she was sure Morrible was gone.

The younger Thropp dropped onto the floor, her energy spent. She gingerly pressed a finger to her back and hissed in pain. The back of her dress was in shreds. Nessa turned over and laid down, the wounds preventing her from sleeping for a while, but finally she was able to drift off into darkness.

* * *

Elphaba silently tiptoed through the Alpha Deck, careful not to make a sound. She needed to find cell fifteen. Left, then right, then left again and Elphaba found it.

"Nessa?" She whisper-shouted into the dark cell. She couldn't see anything.

"Nessa?" Elphaba called again. Still no response. Summoning her magic, the witch soon found herself holding a green ball of light.

She swore her heart stopped at the sight. Nessa was curled up in the corner of the cell, her dress torn and her back covered in red marks. What truly scared Elphaba was it didn't look like she was breathing.

In a moment of panic, Elphaba's magic took over and the cell door swung open silently. Without a moment's hesitation, Elphaba ran into the cell. She fell to her knees beside the girl.

"Nessie? Nessie wake up." Elphaba shook her shoulders. A pained groan was what reached her ears first. Nessa's eyes fluttered open, and Elphaba felt elated.

"You're alive." She whispered.

"You of all people should know us Thropps are hard to get rid of." Nessa chuckled, but stopped when a searing pain shot up her back. "I didn't know torture became legal in Oz." She hissed.

"You're on the Alpha Deck, it's legal down here and down here only." Her sister replied, helping her into a sitting position. A flash of sadness passed Elphaba's face when she noticed the ruby slippers had been robbed from her sister's feet.

"How do we get out?" Nessa asked.

"You don't."

The door to the cell slammed shut.

Morrible stood on the outside, her smirking face visible even in the dark. She casually leaned against the bars. "It appears that you were right Miss Nessarose. Your sister would give up everything to save one pathetic excuse of a sister."

Nessa dropped her head, refusing to let Morrible see her cry.

"What a little coward. Too weak to fight her own battles." Morrible mused.

Elphaba jumped to her feet.

"How _dare_ you address her like that?!" She hissed, seething. "I could destroy you right now, and I'm seriously considering it."

"You could never. You could never live with the guilt of watching the light slowly disappear from someone's eyes." Morrible taunted. "Plus, you should probably know you'll never be leaving that cell and neither will she." The woman vaguely gestured towards the girl on the floor.

"I'll make my own way out." Elphaba smirked.

Morrible beat her to the chase and chanted a spell, causing the cell to glow faintly.

"Magic proof. Sorry dearie. This time you lost." She cackled before leaving, victorious.

Elphaba leaned her head forward against the cool metal bars.

"I told her to kill me."

The green girl's head shot around at hearing her sister's voice.

"You what?!"

"I didn't want you to give up your battle for a girl who barely ever treated you like a sister."

"Nessa-"

"You always took care of me. If I died, that burden would be gone," Her voice cracked, "You'd be free. I have nothing left to live for anyway."

"Nessa don't say that-"

"Morrible's right. I am weak." Nessa's head drooped, her greasy, unwashed hair framing it.

"Nessa! For Oz's sake listen to me!" Elphaba exclaimed. "You know, no matter what the circumstances or the consequences I will always come for you." All the day's emotions and pain finally caught up with Nessa and she burst into tears. Elphaba pulled her sister into her arms and lightly stroked the back of her head.

"What about the Animals?" Nessa asked, once she stopped crying.

"The Resistance can carry on until I find my way out of here."

"Elphie?" A voice called from the hall.

"Glin? Is that you?"

"Sweet Oz Elphie! She captured you!" Glinda fumbled with the keys and unlocked the door.

"She found me. And wherever I go, Elphaba is sure to follow." Nessa said, smiling weakly. "Wonder where she got that idea."

Glinda swallowed hard. "I told her." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What?"

"I told Morrible to go for Nessa to get to you. But I had no idea that she would go this far!" Glinda added quickly, seeing the hurt look on Elphaba's face. "I'm sorry. I was jealous. I thought Fiyero and I were perfect for each other, but he chose you."

"Glinda...were you really that jealous to almost kill my sister?"

"She's alive isn't she?" Glinda offered, chuckling slightly, but when she saw the look on Elphaba's face, she sobered. "What?"

Nessa turned around. The blonde took one look at other girl before her face went ghostly pale.

"Let's get you out of here." Glinda said, gesturing to the open door. Elphaba nodded, and, with Glinda's help, picked up her sister. They carried her towards the cell door.

They poked their heads into the hallway, before taking a step forwards.

 _Thump_

Glinda and Elphaba found themselves outside the cell, but Nessa was on the floor inside the cell.

"Ow..." She moaned. Glinda frantically looked around to see if anyone heard, and Elphaba found her eyes focused on her sister's back. A few red sparkles fell from the air above her whip lashes.

"Nessa. Give me your hand." Elphaba whispered. Nessa reached her hand out but recoiled when she touched a barrier in the cell door that lit up only at her contact.

"Glinda, we got ourselves a problem."

"What Elphie?"

"I think there is a magic containment curse on the cell, and the receiving end is Nessa."

"Elphie, in normal Ozian?" Glinda sighed.

"She's stuck and can't leave."

"Oh." The blonde whispered. "What do we do?"

"Go." Nessa answered. "Get out of here while you can."

"Nessie I'm not leaving without you."

"It's your only chance! I can't walk or anything, so I'm pretty much stuck either way."

"Nessa we can find a spell or something." Glinda said, knowing how Elphaba didn't want to leave her behind.

"By the time you do, Morrible will have returned and we'll all be locked down here. Take this opportunity Fabala." Nessa pleaded, her brown eyes wide and desperate.

"But-"

"Go!" The entrapped girl commanded. Elphaba sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.

"I'll come back. I'll always come back." The green girl and the blonde took off into the darkness.

Nessa listened as the footsteps disappeared. She curled her useless legs against her body, burying her head in her knees.

"What did I tell you? She took her freedom." Morrible suddenly materialized in front of her.

"She took her freedom because I'm trapped in here." Nessa growled, not looking up.

"There's more then that. Let me tell you a story."

Morrible waved her hand and a chair and a chess board appeared. Nessa looked up, confused.

"What? You think I'm going to magic proof a cell against my own powers?"

The old woman laid the board on the floor of the cell, before picking up the two kings.

"This one," she held up the black piece, "is me. This one," the white piece, "is your dearly beloved sister." She placed the two glass kings on their squares. Morrible then picked up the white queen, "Miss Glinda."

"And this," a black pawn was raised, "this is you. A small, useless pawn. But to me, you have more potential then anyone expects."

With swift hand movements, Morrible rearranged the pieces of the board. Pawns, bishops, and knights were removed from the squares. She stilled her movements.

The white king was guarded only by a rook, which stood four squares from a single black pawn.

"Out of her own defense, Miss Elphaba will let you die," Morrible moved the white rook to capture the black pawn, "but then be left defenseless."

"Shut up." Nessa snarled as she turned her back to the chess board. "You can't shake my faith in my sister, no matter what you do. She will protect me, which is something you can't say about anyone."

Morrible's face turned dark.

"I warned you dearie, about what would happen if you didn't keep that mouth shut." Morrible hissed, kicking the chess board. The pieces flew and shattered all around the girl, causing her to shriek and duck. Broken pieces of glass landed on her neck, hands, and legs. Blood dripped from a few of the scrapes, and it was flowing steadily from a cut across her hand where, ironically, the cross from the top of the white king had landed. She grabbed it tightly and hissed.

"Burn in hell you fish." Nessa snarled.

"After you." Morrible smirked, slamming the cell door.

When she was sure she was gone, Nessa looked up at the dim ceiling.

"Please Elphaba. Please save me."

* * *

"Guards! The Witch of the West is on the loose!" The mechanical wizard head shouted, its jaw clanging. The words reverberated throughout the whole palace, and Elphaba swore the floor shook as she and Glinda ran for the service exit.

"We're almost there." Glinda promised, running barefoot, both heels in her hands.

"Stop witch!" Two guards demanded from in front of them. Elphaba conjured her magic and one of them landed on the ground, and Glinda threw her shoe at the other one. They both were out for the count. Glinda scooped up her shoe on the way by as they burst out of the door into the alley.

"Get on." Elphaba commanded, jumping onto her broom. Glinda followed suit, as ladylike as possible, and the two women flew off. As the two left the vicinity of the Emerald City, Glinda watched as Elphaba looked forlornly at the green palace that slowly disappeared from sight. The blonde laid a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.

"It's okay Elphie. She'll be fine." Glinda said as they landed in Kiamo Ko.

 _"Please Elphaba. Please save me."_

Elphaba froze.

"Elphie?" Glinda asked, worried. The dark haired girl was as pale as if she'd just seen a ghost.

"I swear...Nessa just talked to me."

"Elphie that's impossible, she's miles away, and she's underground."

"I don't know what it was, but I swear..." Elphaba stopped mid-sentence as her vision blurred. She heard Glinda's screams but couldn't process them. Her mind was miles away.

 _"Stupid girl." CRACK. "You don't deserve to be called a sister." CRACK._

 _"Stop! Please stop!"_

 _"I'm sorry Elphaba!" A sniffle. "I'm sorry for all I've done."_

 _"Give her one more day. She won't survive. She's barely scraping through as it is."_

 _"Fabala...I don't even know if you can hear me...but please...save me...save...me..."_

"Elphaba Thropp!" Glinda cried.

The green girl didn't know how she got the floor, nor did she care. "Voices. They were just voices."

"What?"

"I heard voices. Morrible's and Nessa's. She's being tortured again."

"How do you know?"

"I don't know I just do. I heard them. I have to save her...they're killing her."

"Elphie...at least let me go with you."

"No Glin. Stay here. You'll be safe. Just trust me. I'll be back by daybreak."

Elphaba jumped out the window, soaring towards the Emerald City.

"Be safe Elphie." Glinda the Good said to the wind, hoping it would carry to the ears of the Wicked Witch of the West.

* * *

When the metal hinges on the cell door opened with a creak, Nessarose didn't even turn around.

"Go ahead Morrible. Do your worst."

Slim hands gently touched her shoulders with surprising gentleness.

"Come, my sweet."

"Elphaba?" Nessa turned her head. "Is that really you? Please say I'm not hallucinating again. Or that you're not Morrible trying to trick me again."

Morrible had tricked her numerous times by casting a spell to make herself look like the green girl, just to get inside Nessa's head more.

"No, it's me. Fabala."

"Prove it. Say something only she would know."

"I swear on our mother's, Melena Beatrice Thropp, heir to the Eminence and Thropp Second Desending, grave, that I am Elphaba Melena Thropp," Elphaba said in a soft tone, "and I'm here to get you out."

"How? What about the enchantment?"

"Yes, that's a good question, one that many people find confusifying."

Elphaba thrust her hand forward and released a stream of green lightning towards none other then Morrible who stood outside the cell. She fired back her own red spell. The green girl narrowed her eyes and felt a sudden stroke of determination. This woman, this _fish_ , was trying to destroy her family.

She wouldn't succeed.

The emerald witch and the old woman stood in a dead locked magic duel, neither moving. Elphaba felt her strength depleting. Without lowering her hand, she turned her neck to Nessa.

"Nessie, you know that song that we always sang when we were kids?"

"The one about storms and brick houses?" Nessa recalled all the times when Elphaba would sing that song with her and play on the piano.

"That's the one. Think of all the lyrics you can remember."

"I'm gonna pick up the pieces, and build a brick house. If things go wrong we can knock it down." Nessa sang softly.

"And it's dark in a cold December, but I've go you to keep me warm. If you're broken I will mend ya and keep you sheltered from the storm that's raging on." Elphaba responded.

"I'm out of touch."

"I'm out of luck."

"I'll pick you up when you're getting down."

"And out of all these things I've done."

"I will love you better now." Nessa sang the final line.

Elphaba smirked as the green lightning grew brighter and brighter with each lyric.

"What? No!" Morrible screamed as her own magic receded into her palm, and the green light blinded her as it engulfed the room, and she passed out. A small explosion occurred at the cell door.

"I think you're free." The older Thropp scooped the younger into her arms and carried her out into the same alley she and Glinda had escaped into earlier.

"Let's go Nessie." Elphaba smiled as they mounted the broom. "Let's go home."

The pair flew off into the setting sun.

* * *

 **Song Used- Lego House by Ed Sheeran**

 **Review please!**


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